The Korea Exchange CEO wants cryptocurrencies to be institutionalized

Sohn Byung-doo, chief executive of Korea Exchange, urged South Korea to prepare an institutional infrastructure as virtual assets have become a major investment asset in the country.

In his speech to Global ETP Conference 2021, Sohn Byung-doo, chief executive of Korea Exchange, insisted that "the virtual asset market is no different from the capital market in that it must be supported by investor protection and transaction stability", and he strongly insisted on the need for South Korea to prepare an institutional infrastructure as virtual resources have become one of the main investment resources in the country. KRX chief drew attention to the number of crypto investors in the country (5 million) and how the daily trading volume in the Korean crypto market is close to that of the stock market.



Sohn revealed that the daily trading volume in the Korean virtual asset market is about 14 trillion Korean won (about $ 12 billion), while the KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) reveals that the stock market has managed over 19 trillion won (about $ 16.1 billion) on November 30th. The daily trading volume of the virtual assets market surpassed that of the KOSPI in March and again in September of this year.

Currently, South Korea classifies cryptocurrencies as intangible assets, such as computer software or patents, and plans to tax crypto gains as other income, where the profit occurs haphazardly like in lottery winnings.